This ministry was launched in July 2007. Each day you can find a bible study and life application devotional as I walk through life and the scriptures with you. I also spend a lot of time praying for people and offering guidance and encouragement. You can think of me as a virtual pastor of sorts, preaching, teaching, praying and edifying every day. I hope to hear from you and pray this ministry will bless you in a special way. In Christ, Mark

Monday, February 4, 2013

DEAD OR ALIVE?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The heavens belong to the Lord, but He has given the earth to all humanity. The dead cannot sing praises to the Lord, for they have gone into the silence of the grave. But we can praise the Lord both now and forever!

Psalm 115:16-18 (New Living Translation)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

WRITER’S NOTE: I typically write from the New International Version but at times, I find that a certain passage will be better served through a different translation. Today is one of those days as I finish looking at the 115th Psalm through the lens of the New Living Translation.

Are you dead or alive?

The question might seem like a ridiculous one to anyone who tries to reason it out from a worldly physical perspective. I mean, of course one would have to be alive if they are able to read these words I am typing – right?

But when we look at life from a spiritual perspective, we can see that a person can actually be dead although they seem to be perfectly alive. Just take a look at the final verses of the 115th Psalm to see this validated by the Word of God:

The heavens belong to the Lord, but He has given the earth to all humanity. The dead cannot sing praises to the Lord, for they have gone into the silence of the grave. But we can praise the Lord both now and forever!

As we go back to the beginning and the book of Genesis, we find God creating all things in heaven and on earth. He, the Creator of everything became Lord and Master of all, the only One who has dominion over every living thing. The Lord made man and woman and then gave the earth to them and the abundance of their offspring which today number more than seven billion. Look at the world around us today and it is just what we are making it to be, good and bad.

And so mankind inhabit the earth they have been given but as we continue to read in our scripture passage, not everyone in mankind is the same. There are two distinct categories of people on earth: those who are dead and those who are alive.

As we look at verse 17, we find that the dead, those who fail to believe and trust in the Lord, cannot sing praises to the Lord. They are not living in Him or for him but rather for the world and the desires it presents them. Rather than surrender these desires for the desires of the Lord, they choose to live in death soon to go to the silence of the grave. Indeed, they are moving closer and closer each day to death and the end when they could have eternity. This truth leaves no room for celebration, only sadness and unfortunately, there are countless thousands and maybe even millions who are in this condition today.

Contrast this with the state of those who place their faith, hope, and trust in the Lord. They are not dead but very much alive in Him, able to celebrate and praise Him with thanksgiving, not just now but forever more.

And so the question remains, “Are you dead or alive?”

If you’re counted among the dead, my prayer is that you will have a change of heart today, allowing this word of the Lord to convict you and change you, to take you from death to life.